


these moments are for us, and only us

by mazelinka (ariatl)



Series: my only reason [10]
Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: Comfort, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Random & Short, Romance, Short & Sweet, and these will probably be all over in their timeline but its all good, im slowly adding everything because ive got A LOT, these will be in absolutely no order just so you know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-14
Packaged: 2019-02-13 07:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12979521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ariatl/pseuds/mazelinka
Summary: a collection of tidbits and prompts i've done on tumblr for kylie and jaal!





	1. blanket forts are in

_“Kylie, is this necessary?”_

“Uh, is it necessary for you to even ask me that question, Sassmaster?” Her voice was muffled, muted, hidden behind an endless stack of Initiative-branded pillows and thick, velvety blankets pressed and clung together to form the perfect canopy towering high above her head in loose, lovely waves. It cocooned her in a total warmth, deep shadows cast over her dark features while bright, ice-blue eyes stood out in a rich contrast against the darkness. “Blanket forts are  _always_ necessary – Especially so when you have a shit ton of work to do and would rather die than do it.”

_“I believe it would be more beneficial for you to –“_

"Nuh-uh!" She shook her head, effectively quieting him. “I thought you were all for fun, my dude.”

_“I…”_ He seemed as if he was struggling to find the words, a blip making him hypothetically clear his throat. _“Yes, I am, as you’ve taught me -”_  
  
“Say it, then.”

_“Kylie, is this really -”_  
  
“Say it!”

If she hadn’t seemed so excited to hear him say the dreaded catchphrase she’d programmed into him weeks ago, he would’ve protested _more_. A slight irritation pulled at his eerily monotonous voice, the undertone of the word enough to hint at sarcasm and drip throughout his words against near-clenched teeth.  _“Cowabunga, dude. Now, are you happy?”_

”Oh,” a grin that positively  _hurt_  danced across her face freckled as she melted into a puddle of giggles within the fort, staring up at the canopy ceiling above her head. “Hell yeah! I'm one proud momma. Good job, Sassmaster. That was even better than last time!”

_”Now, as I was saying, you need to -”_  
  
“Oh, my God - No! Get with the program, Sam!” Her body fell back with a soft _thud_ and a quiet grunt, sprawling out over the expanse of the leather-lined couch. “Blanket forts are in and everything else is out, obviously. Let me do my work in peace inside this fort, okay?”

_“While I do not doubt the truth behind that rash statement, I believe it would be much more beneficial for you to sit at your desk while you work. It will help you focus, given your circumstances, and it will –“_

“Yadda-yadda, _blah,_ ” Kylie fervently shook her head, a tattoo-laced arm reaching out to search for the hem of the blankets pooled above the opening. Fingers found purchase in the soft fabric, wrinkling it in her grip, before giving it a quick yank; They fell over, cascading in endless waves and shrouding the rest of her in a deep, never-ending darkness, locking her away from the world. “You’re the ‘no fun allowed’ robot.”

If Sam could’ve sighed, he would've.

* * *

_“Jaal,”_ the blip of his familiar, monotonous voice made the man pause, the lively, humming tool in his hand skittering to a stop as he glanced up from the workbench he’d been immersed in. He almost sounded...  _Exasperated,_  if he wanted to reach that far _._   _“I fear it is dire.”_

That sentence, let alone the way he had said it, made his body tense, a minuscule amount of hesitation in the artificial intelligent’s almost-tired words enough to make him feel the slightest bit of worry. A brow slowly quirked up, galaxy-like eyes sparing a wary glance up at the tile-lined ceiling. “Might I ask,  _what,_ exactly, is dire?”

_“I will allow you one opportunity to guess, as that seems to be a game that you and Kylie play frequently.”_

“Alright,” Jaal quickly cleared his throat as he closed the shaft of the gun he’d been tinkering with, brows furrowing in thought. An idea hit him, as if it were the most obvious thing, and he grinned, lazy. “Kylie’s locked herself in the galley on a hunger strike again because Vetra forgot to restock that cereal she loves so much. Ah - Blasto's.”

_“No – One more try.”_

“Okay…" A low hum rumbled deep within his chest, getting to work powering down the rest of his lively workbench. He gasped at the next idea, his movements pausing - This is it, truly. "She’s forwarded spam email to Tann once again, and he’s about to revoke her Pathfinder status because he truly believes that she’s given him ten years of bad luck.”

_“No, though I had almost forgotten about that."_  Sam audibly sighed, the noise awkward and strange. _"I had **hoped** to forget that, actually. It is neither of those, sadly. I fear that she has locked herself in what she is referring to as a ‘fortress of fun’, and refuses to come out. She claims that being eclipsed in darkness will aid in her work."_  He didn't sound amused, his tone flat. _"I do not believe her.”_

“Ah,” the look that danced across his face at the thought, joy and warmth intertwining in a sugary concoction that made his chest ache, caused galaxy-like eyes to brim with a happiness that only she could make him feel. “Her beloved blanket fort. Then, she must be having a rough time getting herself to focus on work, yes?”

_“Yes.”_

With a gentle sigh, he pushed away from the cool metal of his desk. The chair he'd been sitting on skidded back with a loud, near-deafening  _screech_ as he stood, muffling the rustle of fabric as he straightened out his rofjinn. “I’ll go and take care of it. Thank you, Sam.”

_“Thank **you** , Jaal.”_

* * *

“Darling one?” The deep timbre of his voice called out into the eerily empty space of her quarters, the only sound, his heavy footsteps, dotting the air before they came to a still. Bright blue eyes glanced around, taking note of her datapad-stacked desk and the bedsheets mysteriously missing from her bed, before they caught the sight of a square, boxed-in structure over the couches beside her card table.   
  
It looked oddly… Comforting. Warm. Soft and light to the touch, an overwhelming desire for him to grasp handfuls of the velvety blankets laid over its body and to curl up inside of it's promise of protection threatening to swallow him whole -

A slight shake of his head brought his mind back to the task at hand. Focus, Jaal. He cleared his throat. “Are you in here, my love?”

No answer came. He lazily grinned – He’s always down to play this game with her.

“Hmm… I could’ve sworn that I saw my darling one come in here earlier, and I don’t believe I’ve seen her leave since.” A lolling sigh left him as he aimlessly wandered about the room, first heading over to her desk. He picked up a small, miniature statute of the SSV Normandy SR-1 from her desk, turning it in his hands to idly inspect it, before setting it back down with a soft  _click_. “Well, either way, now is the perfect opportunity for me to… Oh, how does she say it?”

A hum rumbled lowly in his chest, his footsteps slowly winding his body towards the pile of fluff stacked high on the leather couch. “Ah, yes – Now I have the opportunity to snoop in her belongings.”

The softest, muted gasp came from within the cushions –

He grinned;

He’s got her.

“Now, where does she keep that diary she’s mentioned so often? The one where Liam has told me about before that mentions how deliciously handsome I am?” He cleared his throat, stomping his feet with each word that left him while he rounded the couch to stand behind it before his steps grew lighter, softer, as if he were walking away.  
  
Only, he wasn’t, instead lying in wait for her to take the bait he's carefully laid out. 

The slightest parting from the front of the blanket-filled mess revealed the entrance to her vast, seemingly-endless fort of pure, and utter, comfort. A cautious head filled with tightly-coiled curls slowly peeked through, icy eyes wide with indignance as she searched the room, before she called out. “Jaal Ama –“

“Aha!”

The piercing scream that escaped her as he leaped through the opening, just barely wide enough to fit his massive body, was muffled by his hand. She thrashed under his weight, blankets falling and cushions starting to give way in a mess of noise and rustling, before he wrapped his arms around her and stilled her haphazard tantrum.

“That was  _so_  dirty, Jaal!” Arms frantically wiggled free from his grip for small hands to grasp the folds of flesh atop his head, their gazes meeting; Hers was hot and heated, irritation crinkling her dark features, while his was all too smug for her liking, a toothy smirk accentuating heavily-lidded eyes that made her want to melt -

No - She wants to be _mad,_  ignoring the way that her heart skipped a beat when he winked at her, sudden. Her cheeks flushed.She wanted to wipe that grin off of his face. “What the hell?!”

“Sam told me it was dire, so, as you say in your diary,” an arm came up beside her head, bending at the elbow to flex and reveal well-trained muscles, taut and stiff, that made her throat feel dry while he savored her reaction, stunned. “I brought out the big guns.”

“Wow!” Kylie scoffed, her head falling back. “You, Jaal Ama Darav, are _rude_ , and _you’re_  dire, Sam!”

_“I know. I apologize, Kylie. I feared we wouldn’t be able to get you back.”_  
  
“Oh, I’m not sorry at all, darling one.”  
  
The slightest waggle of his brows when she lifted her head up to look at him made her eyes indignantly roll. A rough, loud sigh, though more akin to a scoff, escaped her as her fingertips slowly trailed down the length of his head, gentle, before her arms opted to wrap loosely around his shoulders. “You know, you’re lucky you’re so goddamn cute.”

“I know,” his words were slightly mumbled, murmured, as he leaned in closer, their noses ever-so-lightly brushing. Bright eyes slowly took in the halo of black curls that danced around her head, framing her face in the sweetest way that made it difficult for him to think, before they trailed down to the indignant pout of her full lips, pulling at his heart in a way that made him melt into a smile. He glanced up, catching her gaze, and a quiet breath left him. “You’re infinitely cuter, though.”

“I know." A soft, slight grin pulled at her full lips, relaxing her into the warmth of the blankets. "Wanna do nothing with me for a little while?”

“I’d love to.”


	2. apple juice

“Wait a minute,” dark brows slowly furrowed while her eyes narrowed the longer she stared at the glass cradled in his hands. It hit her, then - She finally realized just what, exactly, was sloshing around in his cup, the amber familiarity clicking in her brain; Her eyes shot wide open with a gasp. “Uh, Jaal… Are you drinking apple juice right now? Are you able to even, like, have it? I mean…”

Jaal paused, squinting his eyes as he peered down into his cup to examine the deep-hued liquid. It swished from one side to the other, before he looked back up with a smile that made her heart skip a beat, triumph in his features. “Ah, that’s what this is? I’ve been drinking it for the past week, but I wasn’t sure what it was, to be honest. It tastes very lovely.”

“Oh, my God. Mary, Jesus, and Joseph.” Kylie buried her face in her hands, dragging them down with a long, drawn-out groan. She peered up at him from under her thick, dark eyelashes, her splayed fingers pressed against her cheeks and her lips pressed together, before they parted with a pop. “Jaal, what if you could’ve been allergic to it? Did you tell Lexi before you even had it? No, actually - Do you feel funny right now?”

“It makes my throat burn, in a good way." He hesitated, his words drawled out. "A nice, steady burn, really. Almost like that drink Liam made me try in the Vortex on the Nexus last week.” Icy blue eyes widened impossibly at his words, the worry dancing through them enough to  _almost_  make him feel scared. For his safety, of course. “It also reminds me of a drink that we have at the Tavetaan back on Aya, akin to just how sweet this, uh… Apple juice, yes? Tastes, only… Ours is more alcoholic, I suppose.”

“It makes your throat  _burn_? Burn?! It - It - Oh, my fucking God, you - Jaal, I love you _so_ much, but it definitely  _shouldn’t_ be doing that. It’s - It’s not alcohol, dude. Like, not even in the tiniest bit.” Kylie fervently shook her head in pure and utter disbelief, a slow breath leaving her in thought before a sharper one left her and she reached for his cup. “Alright, you’ve lost your apple juice privileges. Give me it.”

“What?” He quickly yanked it away from her, careful not to spill it, before pursing his lips with sheer indignance. “No.”

“Jaal –“

“No.”

The look on her umber, freckled face could've killed him if he weren’t so stubborn, her thick, dark brows furrowed over cold, wide eyes. Her words hesitated a moment, the anger boiling and building in her chest with every drawn-out second, before she exploded. “Your apple juice privileges have been permanently  _revoked_!” She pushed herself up and over the table with a bang, desperately grabbing for it. “Give me it!”

“No! You can’t just take things away from others!” He sharply turned away from her, quickly standing up and protectively clutching the cup against his broad chest. His voice sounded warbled, almost, the words difficult to make out as the seconds rolled by. “It’s mine - I poured it myself, therefore I get to drink it!”

“Jaal Ama Darav!” Kylie threw herself off of her chair, taking a step towards him. “You give me that -” 

He took off through the doors the moment she moved, nearly bolting away and pressing the cup closer to his chest when she yelled out after him; His steps were quick and fast, footsteps echoing and bouncing off of the metal walls surrounding them in a distracting cacophony before dancing down the hallway in a rush, leaving her in the dust. 

It was difficult for her to keep up, a curse muttered under her breath - Fuck her short legs.

“I’m your goddamn  _Commander_!” She called out, sputtering through her bouncing words as she struggled to find them. “I’m - I’m - I’m your  _Pathfinder -_ Like _,_ I’m your fucking _girlfriend,_  and I’m not having a crew member,  _nor my fucking boyfriend_ , go down by death from allergic reaction! Give me that cup or so help me, God –“

“No!”

“ _Boy!”_


	3. trust fall

“Do you trust me?”

Her broken words took him by surprise. Jaal hesitated, glancing over his shoulder to meet the sight of his girlfriend standing a step away from his room’s wide-open doors, only –

She looked completely and utterly  _exhausted_.

The rich bags under her eyes were heavy, deep, accentuating just how bloodshot the light whites of them were – Perhaps from no sleep, perhaps from worrying, or a combination of those two both overwhelming her, but all of those ideas made his stomach turn. Concern flickered through his galaxy-like eyes and etched through his soft features as he turned around, getting ready to stand up from his desk, only for her to shake her head.

“Do –“ She took in a soft breath, lips pressing together as she tried to find the words again. “Do you trust me, Jaal?”

His voice made her shiver. “More than anything in the galaxy.”

That was all she needed.

Kylie let out a trembling breath this time, cold eyes glued to the ground as she made her way over to him. She paused just before him, and that’s when he saw it - The ghost trails of long-dried tears kissed lines down her freckled, umber cheeks, passing over the three-lined scar she got years ago, and his heart nearly stopped beating.

“Darling one?”

Her voice cracked. “Don’t – I just –“

Full lips pressed together as she held out her hands before slowly turning her wrists up, revealing the smooth expanse of tattooed skin. A colorful array of flowers and patterns twisted and curved around every bend of her forearms, disappearing into the bunched-up sleeves of her hoodie, until –

His eyes caught the glint of harsh, white light flickering against her textured skin, and his stomach dropped.

“I used to self-harm.”

It almost felt like a punch to his stomach.

“When things got too much, I’d – I used to –“ Kylie swallowed thickly, a break in her voice making her take in a shaky breath. “It’s something I’ve been working on, for a really long time. And – And a minute ago, I started to have one of those episodes again, where I just start panicking for no reason and my brain starts going a million miles a minute, and I was about to…”

She cleared her throat. “You know.”

The look in his eyes made a bubble burst in her chest, and when his deep voice started with the sweetest pull of worry in his voice, she almost lost her composure. He was breathless. “Kylie –“

“But then,” it took all of her willpower to keep herself contained, to bite back the sting of tears, like sand slipping through her fingers. Disbelief weighed her words down. “I remembered  _you_ , and how we kissed a few days ago, and I… I didn’t want to.”

Icy blue eyes met his, a moment hanging in the air as her voice grew softer. “I’m not used to that.”

“Darling one…” It was subtle, then, the little pat against his thighs, but she caught on. Electric hands met her waist as she settled onto his lap, straddling him, and thick fingers carded through his coiled hair. Awe pulled on his voice, tugging at his heart. “I am so incredibly honored that you decided to share this with me. I’ve – I know that you used to do something akin to this, but I was terrified to ask.”

“And,” Jaal’s forehead met hers, a skip in his heart as her eyes fluttered shut. “I know that your kind tends to be more… Personal and closed-off, compared to my kind.”

“I’ve been trying to be more open for you.”

“I know. And I appreciate it so much, you don’t even know.”

Her gentle smile almost melted him, truly, the softest breath leaving her. Hesitant eyes slowly opened, catching his gaze, and her words seemed caught in her chest. “Do you wanna know what I was panicking about?”

“If you wish to talk about it, yes – I would be honored, my love.”

“My shit brain made me think that you didn’t really like me, that it was all happenstance. That maybe you were just pretending to like me and trust me because… I - I don’t know.”

The disbelief in his voice made her stutter. “What?”

“I know – It’s  _dumb_. That’s why I hate mental illness; There’s no rhyme or reason, it just  _happens_. It just forms out of nowhere and decks you in the face without warning. But – But then I remembered that little twinkle in your eye when I pulled away from you last week, and it felt so… Real.”

“It  _is_  real.”

She stared at him for a moment, the words hanging in the air.

It was gentle, quiet, so full of emotion that she nearly lost herself in the moments before, the slightest tremble in his deep, lovely voice making a bubble form in her throat. “Because I love you.”

She nearly melted. 

It felt unreal, almost, her heart aching in her chest and the subtle hint of a quiver in her full lips threatening to give away the tears stinging the corners of her icy blue eyes. Shaky arms wrapped around his neck as her eyes fell shut, the steady hum of his bioelectricity relaxing her to her core as he cocooned her in his warmth. “I love you, too.”


	4. the sweetest song

Giddy laughter filled the light-hearted air, intertwining and hiccupping in such a way that pulled at her heart; It broke through voices that sang, different octaves and pitches, but there, flittering through the quiet air of her quarters in the Tempest. A smile curled the corners of her full lips as a soft, off-key voice tried to sing through its giggles, the grin on a freckled face below enough to melt her in her very spot.

Kylie picked up the trodden beat, hands lacing together with much smaller ones as she started to lightly dance along. A step to and fro, followed by the twirl of dark, tightly-coiled hair as the younger girl spun in a quick circle with a gleeful giggle, made her chest feel heavy and full in only the best of ways before she finally started to sing along. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star -”

Sadhaana nearly screamed the words, coming out in a squeaked rush. “How I wonder what you are!”

“Exactly! That was perfect, Sadie.” Her face nearly cracked from how hard she was smiling, a swell in her heart making her feel light. It felt impossible, staring down at her violet-rich eyes that seemed to dance with joy, with things she couldn’t even begin to explain. It felt impossible to love something, or someone, so much. “Up above the world so high –“

“Like a diamond in the sky!”

The warmth of a wide, near-electric hand meeting her shoulder caught her attention, interrupting her train of thoughts and breaking her line in the song apart; A soft gasp escaped her as their steps promptly stilled, their intertwined hands falling, and she glanced over -

It nearly melted her, the sight of Jaal standing behind her. 

The sheer happiness dancing across his soft features only made her smile grow impossibly more, a skip in the beat of her heart making the tell-tale sign of tears to prick at the corners of her eyes and a bubble to form in her throat. Virohaan fiddled in his arms, tiny, white-freckled legs kicking and bucking wild and free, before he rolled around to wrap his arms around his father’s neck in a fit of glee-filled squeals. Jaal looked tired, but happy, and that's all that mattered.

“Darling one,” a soft sigh broke his words, the deep timbre of his voice a welcome sound after weeks spent apart. Any ounce of exhaustion left him, visibly relaxing as he took in the sight of her, just as lovely and beautiful as the moment they'd first met on Aya; The look in her softened eyes made him feel impossibly warm, kissing away the remnant chills of time spent on Voeld. “How is –“

“ _Daddy_!” Sadhaana’s glass-shattering screech broke through his words, bright, blue eyes sharply widening as the girl threw herself against his knees. Her arms wrapped around his hooked legs as tightly as her tiny body could possibly manage, violet eyes squeezing shut with a loud, overtly dramatic grunt of effort to show just _how_ much she'd missed him.

He simply couldn’t contain his smile - He loved her so much.

A soft chuckle escaped him as he kneeled down, catching her as she climbed his legs to cling to his chest; Tiny hands dug into the back of his rofjinn, her signature registering with his through a steady thrum that soothed his frayed nerves, a feeling long-missed, and he sighed. “Sadie, my love - The light of my life, my beautiful, darling girl! I trust you’ve been behaving while I’ve been gone, yes?”

“Yes, yes! I  _always_  am!” It almost sounded as though she was about to cry, the crack in her voice enough to rip his heart in half. She pulled back just enough to reveal the slightest hint of tears staining her wide eyes as she sniffled. Oh, it hurt. “I’ve missed you so much.”

“And I, you.” The littlest bit of her pulling away from their tight hug allowed him purchase to lightly boop her wide, flat nose with the tip of his finger, catching her off-guard. Her expression flipped just like that, a gap-toothed smile lighting up her face in such a way that made him feel everything and anything _good_ , all at once. “Impossibly more than you could ever imagine.”


End file.
